Sound of Settling
by thoughts without purpose
Summary: After three years of living outside the wizarding world, Harry returns to the Burrow on Christmas. He has no expectations, just a hope that everything can go back to the way it was. Most are willing to accept those terms while others find it harder.
1. Shopping

A/N: Ok, so I totally know that I am now overwhelming myself, seeing as I have two other stories that I really should be working on, but I am so in love with this story, that I decided to post the first chapter. I hope you like it. I started it at Christmastime as a one-shot Xmas story, but I continued it, so here is where the original stopped and you can tell that I just had to continue. Please let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer:** None of them are mine, though I totally wish some of them were... ; )

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Harry hated Christmas shopping. He had never really had any of the Christmas spirit before he had gone to Hogwarts and by his last year, he had been so caught up in trying to defeat Lord Voldemort, that he hadn't had time to think about Christmas. 

He wasn't a complete Scrooge, he always made an effort to send his friends gifts. But the fact that he had never accompanied the packages to their recipients, he knew, made it seem that way. Of course, that never stopped Molly Weasley from sending him an invitation to the Burrow for the holidays. It was just that Harry preferred to spend Christmas alone. He never went seeking company on Christmas, and no one had come looking for him on Christmas after he had sent people away in a very drunken state three years prior.

The circumstances were hazy enough on the issue. Of course the Daily Prophet had a field day with it, the headline reading something to the effect of "Drunken Hero Burns Up Apartment" and had gone on to explain how the Boy-Who-Lived had royally fucked things up. Probably under the influence of one too many Firewhiskeys, he had turned everyone he had invited over out of his flat and then set fire to it. And then he disappeared.

Now here he was, three years later shopping for Christmas presents at Harrods. He was decidedly nervous about showing up at the Burrow for Christmas this year, after the last time he had encountered any of these people. Hermione had insisted that everything was forgiven and forgotten, but Harry just couldn't see it. And he could not yet bear the thought of reentering the wizarding world, so he had chosen the largest of Muggle destinations for his annual one stop Christmas shopping extravaganza.

The crowd was fierce and since Harry was not particularly motivated to move quickly, he was often shunted aside by the many shoppers who _were _in a hurry. This didn't really bother him however. Most of these people were too busy to stop and look at him and this pleased him. That was why he liked the muggle world. Harry could go about his business without every single person he came in contact with recognizing him and singling him out. These muggles were far too wrapped up in their own lives to give a fig about some young man with black messy hair and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead.

But Harry only allowed himself to revel in this thought for a moment as he was struck across the head by a large stuffed bear. A young man turned around and apologized hastily before rushing off again, but it was enough to remind Harry that he was here for presents, not for the anonymity the store provided. He pulled a paper out of his pocket and examined it. First on his list was Hermione. But there was a small check next to her name and he remembered he had bought her a red coat he had seen a girl modeling in a shop window the other day. He sighed gratefully as he mounted the escalator going up, squashed in between a small child carrying a dollhouse larger than she was and an old lady who smelt like mothballs.

As he was dumped out at the top, he decided he would first look for something to give Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He felt slightly guilty, as he had no idea what on earth to give them. The Weasley's were the closest thing Harry had felt to having family and he felt more than slightly guilty about completely removing them from his life for three years. Not keeping his eyes on the path in front of him, but merely on the shelves for signs of inspiration, he ran into something rather solid.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" an angry voice could be heard from the floor in front of him. Harry looked down to see a pretty young woman sprawled on the floor. Her face was flushed and there was a shopping bag spilled out at her feet.

"I'm really sorry. Here, let me help you with that," he said, kneeling down and helping her put the small wrapped packages back into the bag. The girl was on her knees, her long brown hair swept in front of her face. Harry straightened up, holding her bag in one hand and her arm in the other, helping her up. She regained her balance and brushed off the front of her coat.

"I really am sorry. You're right, I should have been looking where I was going. Are you all right?" Harry said, handing her bag back to her. She smiled.

"I'm fine, really. It was bound to happen at some point today. I just-" suddenly she stopped. Her eyes darted quickly from Harry's up to his forehead. Harry felt his stomach drop and his hand automatically went up to flatten his fringe. He hadn't had to do that in quite some time, and it rather unnerved him.

The girl was now staring at him. Her large brown eyes were wide. Suddenly, another customer rushed by, causing her to bump into Harry. She looked away again, her hand running through her hair nervously. "Um…Harry?" she asked quietly. Her eyes traveled slowly back up to his forehead, but his hand was still there.

"Do I know you?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. His heartbeat started to quicken. She looked so familiar, but he didn't want to say anything that might drive her away. She looked like-

"Its uh, wow this is hard to say…um, it's me, Harry. Ginny." They were still standing in the middle of Harrod's food counter and if it hadn't been for the massive crowd surrounding them, Harry might have fallen over.

It was her. Now that he had the name to put with the face, he was shocked with himself that he hadn't seen it right away. And all of a sudden, Harry's mouth felt rather dry. He cleared his throat and stared at her, his mouth slightly open in surprise. He seemed to have lost the ability for intelligent speech.

"But…Ginny, your hair. Its-its-"

"Different. Yeah, I know," Ginny said, smiling as she pulled at a lock of her dark brown.

Harry reached out his hand and touched it. It was soft and he could smell it as he was standing so close to her. Then, as quickly as he had reached out to her, he drew his hand away, feeling rather awkward. "I'm sorry. I just-well it looks nice. But why did you do it?" he asked quickly, trying to steer the conversation away from any more awkward moments.

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose I just felt like a change," she said slowly. Harry's eyes caught hers again and she faltered. "Well, ok, let me put it this way. If you have distinct red hair as I did, in the wizarding world, people come to two conclusions. You're either a Prewett or a Weasley. And seeing as the Prewetts pretty much died out with my mother's brothers, they'll know I'm a Weasley. And because I am the only girl Weasley in generations, most people know exactly who I am. I was Ginny Weasley, present at the last battle against Voldemort. People asked about that, there were stories rumours. Don't get me wrong, everyone got hit with that one. But most frequently, they asked about you. I had gone out with Harry Potter. I was the Girl-Who-Shagged-the-Boy-Who-Lived. So they brought it out into the open. Spread it across the front of the papers for everyone to see. And people like Rita Skeeter and other finely distinguished reporters of the Dailey Prophet couldn't get enough of my private life even after your leaving the wizarding world died away. And I'll bet it bothers me as much as the whole scar thing bothered you. That is why you left isn't it?" she finished, looking down at her bag.

Harry didn't quite know what to say. He'd sort of pictured Ginny's life after him as nice, quiet even, seeing as she didn't have to defend herself against Voldemort or Death Eaters. She no longer had to hide herself for her own protection or worry about whether or not any of them would die the next day. He never thought about his being with her affecting her future. 'Perhaps because while we were together, there was no thought of us ever not being together,' Harry thought to himself. This only made him feel even guiltier about the whole situation that lay ahead.

Leaving her had been one of the hardest things about severing contact with the wizarding world. And Harry didn't particularly relish diving head first into this discussion in the middle of a large department store, so he ignored her last question. "Actually, I'm here to buy presents for people. But…I have absolutely no clue as to where to begin. I uh, I haven't seen any of you in so long that I don't know if I'm the best judge at what to get everyone." He laughed nervously and watched her carefully.

Ginny held his gaze for a moment, eyeing him shrewdly. She had the feeling that he had pointedly changed the subject, so as to avoid ensuing awkwardness. And for the moment, she was going to let it slide. She looked around. "Well, it's not as though they've gone through any large drastic changes. You still buy everyone presents every year, even if we never see you. What's so different this time?"

Harry raked his hand through his hair. "I suppose I'll just feel weird this time if I get the wrong thing. Seeing as I'm going to be there to hear what you think of the crap presents I get you," he turned away quickly and started looking at a case of wine. He continued, "I was thinking of getting your parents a bottle of wine. And uh, do they like fruitcake or something?" he turned back to pose the question to Ginny.

Ginny stood there staring at him, nonplussed. "I haven't the faintest idea. But…well Harry its not as though this is some big formal deal. This is-that is, you're family, Harry! I think they would find a bottle of wine insulting!" she said, her voice raising slightly.

Harry felt himself grow angry at this. "Look, I'm not saying that this is easy, Ginny! I can't simply walk in on Christmas and act as if nothing happened!" He turned away, slamming a bottle of wine back onto the shelf.

Ginny grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Why not? Trust me, Harry, no one cares about what you've done. In fact, seeing you would be present enough for them. They miss you, Harry. We all do." Her gaze turned downward again for a moment before she continued, looking up at him once again. "And the idea of forcing you to bring them a bottle of wine as a courtesy gift would be insulting to them after all the years you've known them. If you want to show them you care, just show up!" She let go of his shoulder and stopped staring into his eyes. They unnerved her, they always had, they were so startlingly green and she was more than frustrated that even after all that time, they still had that effect on her.

She was a bit flushed now, that famous Weasley blush creeping into her cheeks. Her brown hair would never cover that up. Harry found himself laughing at the thought.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, hands on her hips and looking very much like her mother.

Harry stopped laughing, but his eyes were still alight with amusement. "Nothing," he tentatively reached out his arm and ran a hand through her hair. He heard her take in a shaky breath. He leaned closer to her as he reached the tips of her hair. "God I've missed you, Gin."

Ginny stepped back a little, her eyes darting nervously up to his and then looking away quickly. "I've missed you too," she said quietly. Harry tried to catch her eye again, but she refused to look at him and his hand fell from the side of her face.

"Ginger! There you are! I've been looking for you for twenty minutes." Harry followed the direction of the unfamiliar voice and physically started at the sight of a large stuffed teddy bear talking to Ginny. But as the bear drew closer, Harry saw a handsome young man holding it.

"Oh Jeff, I'm so sorry. Jeff, is that the bear? It's perfect! Alice will love it!" Ginny kissed the man on the cheek and took the bear from him, looking at it.

Jeff laughed. "She better. I had to fight a middle aged woman who looked as though she'd just been released from prison to get that bear. It was the last one. You'd better buy it quickly. I wouldn't put it past some of these people to jump you for it."

Ginny laughed lightly as she leaned over and kissed him again, this time Harry noted, on the lips. "Thank you," she said, smiling slightly.

Jeff reached out and caught her hand, holding it fast, when he finally noticed Harry was standing there watching them. "Hello there! I don't believe we've met," he said cheerfully, extending the hand that wasn't holding Ginny's out to shake. Harry took it stiffly.

"Oh my god, where are my manners? Harry, this is my boyfriend Jeff. Jeff this is Harry, we were at school together and he's a family friend," Ginny said, shifting the teddy bear in her hand slightly.

"Ah, so you can confirm that Ginny in fact does have a family then? Its odd, she says she has such a large family, yet I've never seen nor heard anything of them," he said jokingly, "But really, its great to meet you."

Harry smiled but said nothing. He seemed to have a large lump in his throat that was keeping him from speaking. Ginny looked at him and then back at Jeff.

Checking her watch, she gasped. "I didn't realize it was so late!" she let go of Jeff's hand and moved towards Harry, pulling him into a hug so that he was pressed between her and the large bear. "We have to go, but it was so great to see you, Harry! I'll see you soon." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her there for the shortest moment, suddenly remembering what it felt like to hold her.

And then they were gone. Lost among the dozens of people in constant motion around him. Harry sighed as he realized he was back to his least favorite task ever. It hadn't seemed so bad while he was talking to Ginny.

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A/N: Again, let me know what you think, I have more written and I will post it soon...perhaps. Oh yeah, and all will be explained eventually...I think. Thanks for reading!  



	2. Waiting

Chapter 2

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"Ron! Get your fingers out of that bowl! That is for after dinner!"

Ron snapped his hand back quickly. Though all of Mrs. Weasley's children were now fully grown, they still never disobeyed a direct order on pain of death. Hermione smiled at him as she supervised the mashing of potatoes and a rather large knife chopping carrots. Mrs. Weasley was pulling a large turkey out of the oven and it made Ron wonder how she'd even seen him put his hand in the bowl in the first place.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go see if you're needed to help in the front room," she said, checking the temperature of the turkey. Ron rolled his eyes but stood from the stool he'd been perched at. He paused to give Hermione a quick kiss and left the kitchen.

Ron entered the living room to survey the long table set up for Christmas dinner. In the far corner, the large tree was amazing and the only thing more impressive was the massive stack of presents underneath, practically rivaling the tree in size. Ginny was sitting on the couch reading a picture book to Alice, who was snuggled in her lap.

"Oi! How come you get to sit around reading stories while the rest of us have to work, Gin?" Ron asked, summoning the extra chairs to the table.

Ginny stopped reading. "I _am_ helping, Ronald. You try getting everything ready with a two year old running around underfoot. Besides, I've had a long journey and Dad said I could rest." She made sure Alice wasn't watching her before she stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"Ugh, it figures." He finished putting the chairs in place and went outside to help Charlie, who he could see from the window was chopping firewood.

Bill walked into the living room. "There you two are! Gin, I'll take her off your hands. Her mum wants to change her into her nice clothes. Thanks for keeping an eye on her," he said as Alice jumped up and ran to him. He scooped her up quite easily and she laughed as he hoisted her up over his head. "Come on, Miss Allie. Let's go get you ready!" They headed up the stairs and Ginny abandoned the book on the sofa and went into the kitchen to help her mother and Hermione.

………………………………..

"I'm just saying that he hasn't said anything to me about it. It doesn't mean he isn't going to, dear," Mrs. Weasley was saying as Ginny entered. She perched herself on the same stool Ron had occupied before.

"Is that fudge?" she asked eagerly, putting her hand into the bowl.

"Ginevra Weasley! Don't you touch that!" Mrs. Weasley gave her daughter a look and Ginny quickly withdrew her hand. Hermione snickered and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Mum, I'm starving!" she whined loudly.

Mrs. Weasley turned to her daughter. "Well it's not my fault you were too lazy to get out of bed early enough to get a muffin before everyone else got one. Here," she handed Ginny a roll, "You can have one of those til its time to eat."

Ginny took a small bite. "Thanks, Mum," she grumbled. She spotted the gravy sitting on the counter and went to dip the roll in.

"Ginny! Don't dip that in the gravy boat!" Hermione said as she swept the gravy out of Ginny's reach.

"God, it's like there's some sort of ration!" Ginny said exasperatedly.

Hermione gave her a look and handed her the salad bowl. "Here, make yourself useful and toss the salad. Merlin, you're as bad as Ron."

"Ugh, please don't say that!" Ginny replied as she started to mix the salad.

Mrs. Weasley stood at the counter next to Ginny and was frosting a large chocolate cake. "So Ginny, is this Jeff fellow coming over today?"

Ginny sighed. "For the last time, Mum. No. He's with his own family. And besides, we've only been going out for a month. I don't think we're at the shared holiday phase of our relationship yet."

"No, they're at the Share-Everything-_But_-Family stage in the relationship right now," Hermione said wickedly as she transferred the mashed potatoes to a serving bowl. "Am I right, Gin?"

Mrs. Weasley looked from Hermione to Ginny and then made a disapproving sound in Ginny's general direction.

"Thanks, Hermione. Remind me again why I shouldn't tell everyone you sneak off to dear Ronald's room every night the two of you have been here?" Ginny ran out of the kitchen to put the now tossed salad on the table and to avoid being hexed by Hermione.

Mrs. Weasley glanced at Hermione, who blushed and turned away from her. Ginny came back into the kitchen and sat perched next to the counter again, watching Hermione arrange rolls in a basket. She tried to take another but Hermione slapped her hand away, obviously still angry that Ginny had divulged that last bit of information.

"So this Jeff, he's a…" her mother trailed off. Ginny rolled her eyes. Hermione watched the two of them back and forth, but she remained quiet.

"Yes, Mum. He's a muggle. And what exactly is wrong with that?" Ginny asked as she grabbed another roll from the basket before Hermione could slap it away this time.

"Nothing. Nothing, it's just that-"

"What, Mum? It's not nothing, I know its not."

"Well, I just think you would be better off with…someone more like you," she finished slowly, trying to word things carefully.

Ginny jumped off the stool. "What! Oh Mum, you are unbelievable! I can't believe you'd-"

Hermione moved next to Ginny. "Ginny, I don't think that's what she's trying to say. Perhaps his character is-"

Ginny pulled her arm away from Hermione. "I know exactly what she's saying! It's because he's not a wizard. She's never liked the idea of me going out with a muggle. You haven't even met him!" she said angrily.

"But Ginny, is all of this really necessary?" Mrs. Weasley moved closer to her daughter. "First your hair, then you move so far away, now this. It's all a bit extreme, don't you think? And why a muggle when you know plenty of other nice boys from school?"

Ginny backed away from her mother quickly and turned away, heading for the door.

"Ginny wait! Please, I just don't want you selling yourself short now and-"

Ginny whirled around once more. "Why do you keep comparing everyone I date to Harry? You know there's never going to be anyone else as good as he is in your mind so why bother? There _are_ no more Harrys out there, Mum! I've come to terms with that. Why can't you?" She turned around again and pushed the door open rather forcibly.

Mrs. Weasley fell silent, looking rather hurt. Hermione walked over to her and put her hands on her shoulders. "Here, why don't I finish getting things ready. I'm sure Fleur and I can handle this. Why don't you go upstairs and have a bit of a lie in?" she said quietly. Molly nodded and climbed the stairs slowly.

"When Arthur gets here, just tell him I'm fine. And…don't mention that to him, will you?" Hermione nodded. "Thank you dear," she said and disappeared upstairs.

A few minutes later, Fleur came down the stairs, Alice in her arms. "'Ermione? Do you need 'elp?" she asked as she came into the kitchen. Hermione checked the clock.

"Thanks Fleur, that would be great. We'll be eating dinner soon, so most of this needs to get out to the table." Hermione smiled at Alice.

"Why don't you run along and find Gin-gin?" she asked, opening the door to the front room, carrying the large basket of rolls. The small girl followed her out, leaving her mother in the kitchen to finish getting things ready.

But Ginny wasn't in the living room. Instead, Charlie and Ron were playing a game of chess against Fred and George. Bill was talking to his father who had just come in, but stopped when he saw Hermione and Alice at the table.

"Is it time to eat yet?" Bill asked. Hermione shook her head.

"Daddy!" Alice ran and jumped into Bill's lap. He laughed and scooped her up onto his knees. Arthur looked up at Hermione.

"Is Molly in the kitchen?" he asked.

"She's taking a nap before dinner. She's been working so hard, I thought she could do with some rest beforehand," Hermione replied, placing silverware and plates on the table. "Did any of you see where Ginny went?" she asked.

Everyone shook their heads. "She's probably upstairs," Ron said absently as he stared at the chess board.

Hermione turned back to the kitchen. From the kitchen window, she could see that Ginny was sitting outside against the shed that sat at the edge of the Burrow's lawn. Hermione wiped her hands with a towel. "Fleur, I'll be right back," she said as she stepped out the kitchen door to the garden.

…………………………………………………………

Ginny looked up as she heard footsteps coming towards her. For a fleeting and terrifying moment, she thought it might be Harry. Ever since she had encountered him a few days ago, she hadn't been able to keep him off her mind. And it was frustrating her. He had left her three years ago, left everything behind and Ginny had been devastated. It had taken her a long time to move on after he was gone. And now that he was coming back, she was starting to feel things she hadn't felt since he left. She took a long drag of her cigarette.

"If your mum catches you with that, she'll murder you," a matter of fact voice said above her.

Ginny laughed. "Hey 'Mione," she said without even looking up. She felt Hermione move and slide down the wall so they were sitting next to each other. Ginny offered her the cigarette. Hermione refused so she tossed it away and looked at her.

"What's up, Ginny? You seem a bit-"

"On edge?" Ginny finished. Hermione shrugged.

"I guess you could put it that way. I just wanted to know if everything was ok. Just in general. I mean, you don't blow up that way very often. I just want to look out for you," she said, patting Ginny's hand in what she felt was a comforting manner.

"Yeah. I'm ok. I just, well I don't know. But she's always getting on my case about guys. You know what she's like, she worships the ground he walks on. Still! After all this time. After everything that's happened. And it just makes me angry," she stood up, starting to pace. "She has him up on some kind of pedestal, we all did, mind you, I'm not saying she's the only one whoever admired him. And he thanks us by abandoning us. Leaving me," she finished quietly. It felt good to talk about it, to get it off her chest, but it was still hard to say out loud.

"Gin, you can't really think that she compares them all to Harry. That's ridiculous," Hermione said, watching Ginny carefully.

"She may not do it directly, but you can tell that she thinks any other guy I date is never going to be as good as he was. None of them are going to live up to those standards in her head! And it's just frustrating, because deep down she's probably right." She sat down again as she seemed to run out of steam. "And it still hurts. After three years, it still fucking hurts," she whispered, resting her head on Hermione's shoulder so she couldn't see the tears that had started to form in her eyes.

Hermione stroked Ginny's dark hair comfortingly. And she thought about everything that had happened between them all. Of course it had hurt her and Ron immensely when Harry left, but it had been awful for Ginny. The day they discovered he was gone, Ginny had come to Hermione in tears. He had left Ginny a note that said he was leaving. There had been no warning, no sign that anything was wrong, he'd just picked up and gone. 'He had been happy, hadn't he?' she thought, as they sat there in the garden, watching the sun dip down behind the trees that dotted the Burrow's landscape.

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A/N: Thank you, **SilverMoonShining, DiscombobulatedDrummer** for reviewing! I decided to put up the next chapter faster than I originally planned because I didn't wanna leave you hanging! And because I really am liking this story. Thanks! thoughtswithoutpurpose : )  



	3. Pictures of You

Chapter 3

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"I don't know how I'll ever fit into my work uniform again," Ginny said, stretching her arms above her head. 

Hermione, sitting across from her, snorted. "Not that there's much to it," she said quietly. At the moment, Ginny was a waitress at a small café and as Hermione had pointed out, the skirts were very short.

Ginny threw her a dirty look. Everyone else was talking, and finishing dinner, so no one else had heard Hermione.

Ron glanced at an empty seat next to Ginny. There was a plate and set of silverware and a glass all sitting there unused. Ron sighed, it must have been too good to be true. He had felt extremely elated when Hermione had come bursting into his office the other day, positively beaming, telling him that Harry was going to come for Christmas dinner. But it was now long passed his scheduled arrival of four o'clock and he had not shown up. Hermione followed his gaze to the empty seat and rubbed his back.

"Perhaps he got held up with something," she said quietly.

Ginny laughed derisively but said nothing as Hermione threw her a dark look. Ron shrugged Hermione off. "No, I think Ginny's right. He wasn't going to show up." He didn't sound angry, merely disappointed. The three of them fell silent again.

Molly stood up. "Is everyone finished? Should we bring out the dessert?" she asked the group.

Fred looked down at the seat next to Ginny. "But what about-"

Everyone turned to look down at her end of the table, and Ginny felt like she'd just consumed a dinner of lead rather than turkey and mashed potatoes.

Arthur cleared his throat. "How about we leave everything on the table for now? We can have dessert when we open our presents," he said decisively and Molly sat down again as she smiled at her husband.

Ginny wanted to yell at him. She wanted to scream that no matter what Harry told everyone, he wasn't coming back. But she didn't because she knew realistically, she was just as hopeful as the rest of them that he would show up.

A sort of tense silence fell over the table for a moment when suddenly, they heard a crack outside. Hermione was halfway in the process of pouring herself more water and she froze. If Ginny had found the silence thick a second ago, it had now seemed to have solidified even more. There seemed to be a collective holding of breath and the only sound was of little Alice who was still eating mashed potatoes and giggling.

A minute later, the front door opened slowly and Harry poked his head around the door. He felt his heart beat increase as he caught sight of the table. Every single person sitting there was staring at the door and consequently at him. He swallowed and stepped inside. He suddenly got a flashback to Christmas in his sixth year, when Percy had returned for a rather unsuccessful family visit. He hoped with all his might he wouldn't receive the same treatment. Percy was blood and he'd been driven from the house by his own brothers, what would they do to Harry?

Harry set the bags he had brought with him down on the floor and stood there, not really knowing what to do with himself. No one from the table had moved yet and it made him uneasy.

Then the little girl, with silvery blonde hair slid from her chair and walked up to Harry. "Hello," she said simply, her spoon from her mashed potatoes still in one hand as she extended her other hand out to Harry.

Harry, confused nonetheless, squatted down to her level and took her small hand and shook it gently. She smiled and toddled back to her seat. Harry heard the scraping of chairs so he straightened back up. He was immediately engulfed in a hug, rendering him breathless.

Ron had stood up from the table so quickly, his chair was almost sent flying across the room. He folded Harry into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Harry was slightly taken aback but he hugged Ron back and it felt like a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. If he had Ron on his side, that's all he really needed. When Ron let go, Harry had no time to say a thing before Hermione threw herself at him, her brown hair obscuring his vision. He smiled as he inhaled her scent of lavender and he could feel her smiling against his shoulder. As she pulled away, Harry let out a sigh of relief as he turned to greet the others.

Harry felt slightly awkward as he saw tears in Mrs. Weasley's eyes and he looked away not wanting to embarrass her. But her voice didn't shake as she clicked her tongue at him. "Don't you know how to feed yourself by now my dear? Look at the state of you! Here, sit down and have something to eat," she steered him into the empty seat and piled his plate high with turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing.

Before he sat down, Harry smiled at Ginny as he pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back and whispered in his ear, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up." They both sat down.

"To tell you the truth, so did I," he said quietly, looking down at his full plate, ashamed.

"Well I'm glad you did," she said, turning back to her own plate, a meaningless gesture, seeing that it was empty, but she wanted to make sure she had no tears in _her_ eyes.

* * *

"Oh Harry! This is too much! Wherever did you find it?" Hermione squealed as she tried on her new coat, twirling around the room.

Harry smiled as Ron turned to him. "Yeah, thanks mate. You've just one upped her boyfriend's present," he said, sounding pitiful.

Harry laughed and Hermione turned to Ron. "Oh don't be silly. Your taste in perfume and jewelry has improved greatly," she said, kissing his cheek.

"Ginny, this bear is wonderful. Already she won't let go of it," Bill said from the other side of the room. Ginny was sitting near the massive tree, sending wrapped packages to their rightful owners.

"Yes well, we had to fight off a gazillion people for that bear. It was the last one. I almost had to resort to making it invisible or something," she said cheerfully.

At the mention of the bear, Harry felt his stomach tighten. Jeff had found the bear. He wanted to ask her why Jeff wasn't here, but decided he didn't really want to know, that he was happy with the fact that he wasn't.

"I didn't tell you, I ran into Ginny while I was Christmas shopping," Harry said, his voice sounding slightly strained, though he thought perhaps it was just his imagination.

Molly turned to her daughter. "You didn't tell us that, Ginny!" she said, sounding slightly reproachful.

Ginny looked back at her mother. "Well, I um-" she was at a loss for words. How was she supposed to tell the entire room that she hadn't told anyone because she didn't want to get their hopes up in case he didn't show up? She glanced at Harry briefly, as if looking for inspiration.

"I think Ginny was afraid that I might not show up today, and didn't want any of you getting any false hopes," he said slowly, locking eyes with her. Ginny stayed silent, it was as if he'd read her mind.

Molly gave her daughter an accusing look. "Well thank you very much for this hatbox, Harry, it's lovely. And you're such a clever boy for thinking of charming it to make it larger on the inside," she added sweetly.

Ginny occupied herself with searching for more presents under the tree as she rolled her eyes at her mother's comment.

* * *

Fleur yawned. Alice was already asleep in her lap, her arm holding tightly to the bear Ginny had given her. Bill looked at his wife.

"Well, I think I should get these two up to bed," he said, sounding fairly tired himself. He picked up Alice easily and her head rested gently on his shoulder.

" 'appy Christmas," Fleur said sleepily as she followed Bill up the stairs.

Fred turned to Harry. "So are you staying the night, Harry?" he asked as he finished the eggnog he'd been drinking.

Before Harry could answer, Molly interjected. "Of course he's staying!" she said, "We already have a bed for him in Ron's room."

They suddenly heard a soft snore from the corner and they all looked over to see Mr. Weasley asleep in his chair. Molly smiled as she walked over to him, gently placing a hand over one of his. "Arthur," she said softly, "Time for bed. Come on now."

Arthur opened his eyes and looked around. "I'm sorry everybody, looks as though I'm more tired than I thought." He stood up. He extended a hand to Harry, who jumped up almost immediately. He shook Harry's hand. "It's good to see you again, Harry," he said, thinking better of the shake and pulling him into a hug.

Ginny stood up and kissed her father on the cheek. "Night, Dad," she said softly. He laid a hand on her head and smiled at her. He bade his other children good night and started up the stairs.

Molly soon followed after giving hugs all around, lingering longer in her hug to Harry. "There's a bed all set up for you. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. Most of this lot will be here for a few more days, so it won't be too boring. Oh it's so good to see you!" she said, pulling him close to her again.

"It's good to be back, Mrs. Weasley," he replied breathily as she held him tightly.

The only people left in the living room now were the twins, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny. Charlie had gone to bed early, seeing as he was waking up at six to apparate back to Romania.

They sat around the fireplace in a comfortable silence. Hermione, still wearing her new coat even though it was extremely warm in the room, was sitting snuggled next to Ron on the couch. Fred and George flanked the two sides of the fireplace, both stretched out their long legs in front of them with their backs up against the brick. Ginny was still sitting on the floor next to the tree, reading a new book she'd received and Harry was sitting in a large armchair merely drinking in the Burrow.

He hadn't realized how familiar it felt to him. He probably knew it just as well as any member of the Weasley family, having spent many years of his life inside its walls. Ginny was right, he was as good as family and sitting there amongst them, he knew it was true.

Harry glanced surreptitiously at Ginny. While he felt nothing but a brotherly love for any of the Weasley boys and rather like a son to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, he knew his feelings for Ginny were anything but familial. He sighed inwardly as he knew they could never be what they once were, that even though she had received him with open arms like everyone else, that she couldn't feel the same as they did. Indeed, her belief that he might not return was proof enough of that. But Harry couldn't blame her. If he had been in the same situation, he probably would have behaved in exactly the same fashion.

Ginny stopped reading the sentence in her book as she felt a pair of eyes on her. She thought she had a pretty good idea of who it was and wasn't prepared to look directly into those green eyes again.

Fred spoke suddenly, to Ginny's secret relief. "So how long are you staying, Harry?"

Harry tore his gaze away from Ginny. "Oh, well, I hadn't really thought about it yet. How long are all of you going to be here?" He turned to look at Ron and Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, it's easy enough to get to the Ministry from here, and it's nice to be back here, so Ron and I'll be here for the rest of the week. Well, I think, was that your plan?" she asked, looking up at Ron. Ron nodded.

"Wait a minute, you two are living together and your mum won't let you sleep in the same room? Isn't that being a bit naïve?" Harry pointed out, watching the two of them.

Ginny finally allowed herself to look up as she giggled. Ron suddenly turned an appropriate shade of crimson. "Well, we actually aren't living together," he said, sounding embarrassed.

Hermione hit his shoulder lightly. "It's nothing to be embarrassed of Ron! Lots of couples don't live together. Besides, I've never heard you complain," she added, smiling a little.

Ron grumbled as the others laughed. He sank further into the couch. "Well, its better than Ginny over here," he said grumpily.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked, her head whipping around to look up at him. Hermione rolled her eyes as Fred and George laughed even louder.

"Oh shut up you two, you'll wake up the whole house," Ginny snapped, slamming her book shut and getting to her feet. Ron stood up too and Hermione followed, if intervention was needed. "Now, what were you saying, Ronald?" Ginny asked, facing her brother head on, not seeming in the least bit intimidated by the fact that he was a head taller than she was.

"You know what I mean, Gin. Don't you think you're moving a bit fast? You moved in with this guy after a week! And what about the others before him? Come on, Ginny, I'm just trying to look out for you."

"And we all know what a brilliant job of that you've done so far. Don't be such a prude, its not a convincing act," Ginny said quietly, she could feel Harry watching her again and she wasn't particularly pleased that Ron had just revealed such a personal bit of information.

"It's better than being a whore!" Ron said heatedly. The words echoed through the front room loudly as everyone fell silent.

Ginny's eyes widened in shock. Everyone was now looking at Ron, whose ears now matched his red face, but he bit his lip nervously. George's mouth fell open in shock. Apparently everyone in the room seemed to know that that comment was way below the belt.

For a moment, Ginny was too stunned to say anything. She merely stood there, still glaring at Ron. Hermione went to move closer to her, probably to hug her, tell her that he didn't mean it but Ginny backed away. She took a deep breath, as if she was trying to calm herself.

"I am nobody's whore," she said to the room at large, finally. She didn't shout it, but her tone was signal enough that it was now the end of the discussion. Then she turned quickly and ran up the stairs.

"Ginny!" Hermione said, but knew it was no use. They heard the door upstairs slam shut.

George and Fred now stood too. "Nice going, Ron. Way to end the evening," George said. "I'm going to bed." He kissed Hermione on the cheek and went to shake Harry's hand. "Merry Christmas," he said much more solemnly than usual, and then he left as well.

Fred shifted from foot to foot, he was in no position to discipline Ron, after all, but he really should have held his tongue. The four of them left in the room were all standing and another awkward silence set in.

Ron scowled as he threw himself back onto the sofa. "She didn't have to react like that," he said, although the tone in his voice didn't sound thoroughly convinced.

Hermione turned to look at him, her face angry. "You called her a whore, Ronald. How would you feel?"

"Well someone needed to get through to her. Come on Hermione, you said it yourself that you were worried about her. I mean, the last time she had a stable relationship was-"

"A while ago, yes, thank you Ron, we're all aware of that," Fred interjected, afraid of what he might have said.

Uncontrollably, Harry felt his face grow hot and he sat down in his chair again. He had a feeling he knew exactly what Ron had been about to say. Hermione glanced at him surreptitiously.

"I think I'm going to turn in as well. See you lot in the morning," Fred said.

"I'm going to check on Ginny," Hermione announced. She gave Ron a significant look as she started to walk away. "It's wonderful to see you, Harry."

Harry stood up again and gave her a hug before she started up the stairs.

Harry felt guilty, but he knew that he was burning with curiosity. Ginny had looked so happy with Jeff, that he found it highly unlikely that she had been so unhappy, and he had to know.

"Um, Ron, what-uh-what were you talking about? I mean, Hermione always said Ginny was doing rather well in all her letters. Is she-um-she's ok, right?" he managed to stutter at his best friend.

Ron sighed. "I don't know. I suppose I was being a bit of a prat just now. It's really Hermione that talks to her. She doesn't tell me much, I usually just get the short version from Mione," he said, giving Harry a knowing look.

Harry nodded and the two of them fell silent again.

* * *

Ginny slammed the door much louder than she had intended to. She moved towards her bed quickly but yelped as her foot came into contact with something rather solid. She sat down on the bed, then looked down at a large trunk sitting there on the floor. There was a note sitting on top of it.

"Hi love, I was looking around in the attic and found this up there. Thought you might want to look through it. –Mum."

Ginny read the note, and looked back down at the trunk and scowled. It was her Hogwarts trunk.

She sat there staring at it for several moments, debating whether or not to just ignore it or to open it up. The last time she'd even seen it was about three and a half years ago.

Biting her lip, she slid the trunk closer to her and dusted the lid off. Then, slowly, she opened it and was greeted by an overwhelming amount of dust and the smell of yellowing parchment and probably some leftover ingredients from potions classes. Although the inside of the trunk was a complete mess, with old quills and papers and odd clothing items all thrown in together, the first things to catch her eye were the photographs sitting on the top.

Ginny gazed down at them, arrested in movement and stared. Some were moving photographs and others were stills. Some of them were so old, she marveled at her twelve year old self. Some were more recent, even a few she recognized as taking after Hogwarts. Without being able to help herself, she fished them out of the trunk and spread them out over the bed.

Ginny felt a familiar prickling at the back of her eyes as she flipped through them. She had always been fascinated by pictures. She had commandeered her older brother's camera after he'd gone off to Romania and decided he couldn't bring it. She had also discovered the wonders of still photographs when Dean had given her a camera with film that Muggles used. She almost liked that better. With still pictures, you captured a moment and it stayed that way forever. Wizarding photographs left too much up to the picture. She remembered all too well watching Percy's little photo self stalking out of the family portrait. They weren't certain. She couldn't depend on them. But a still picture, it didn't matter what happened as time passed, the photo would remain the same, the people in it still as happy as they were the day it was taken. It was a comforting thought.

She paused at a picture she had taken of Harry in his fifth year. He had been sitting in the common room studying for his OWLs, his look intense and focused and she'd secretly snapped his picture.

There was another of Ron on his broom, waving to someone at a Quidditch game, most likely Hermione. More pictures of her with her other classmates, of her with Hermione or her family. And then she found it. A small yellowing envelope was sitting under a stack of pictures and Ginny held her breath as she pulled it out carefully. On the front of the envelope were the words, "Gin's Special Pictures," and there was a large smiley face drawn next to it.

Slowly, she slid out the stack of photos. She felt her hands trembling slightly and almost laughed out loud at how foolish she was being. The first picture on the top was of her and Harry and Ron and Hermione. They were standing outside the Burrow. Their smiles would have been slightly wider, she remembered if her father hadn't taken so long marveling at the muggle camera and just taken the picture. But their slightly worn expressions added to the character of the picture. Harry had his arm tentatively around Ginny's waist as Ron had his hands on Hermione's shoulders, seeing as he was standing behind them, towering over them all.

The next picture was of Harry on his birthday. He was wearing a paper crown on his head and grinning, his green eyes twinkling as an unidentified pair of lips kissed his cheek. Ginny knew they were hers. She'd taken that picture too.

Next was a picture of Ginny and Harry sprawled on the grass somewhere. He was leaned over her, kissing the bridge of her nose where she had been complaining about the small splash of freckles there. Hermione had taken it, Ginny remembered. Ginny actually touched the spot that Harry was kissing in the picture. "Well, I think they're adorable. And I think I should kiss every single one of them," he'd said. His voice was warm. Ginny shivered as she could almost feel his breath ghosting over her face now.

The photo following that made Ginny blush and she hoped her mother hadn't gone through all these pictures. It was a picture of Ginny lying in bed wrapped in sheets blowing a kiss at the photographer, obviously Harry. Ginny turned the picture over and in her own handwriting was written, "two year anniversary." Slightly below that in Harry's small, untidy scrawl there was, "And mind you, we never left our room!" She put the photo down as she felt something tighten in her chest. Another they were kissing heavily on their unmade bed. Harry had insisted on taking a wizarding photo and Ginny watched as her small self kissed Harry fiercely, their hands tangled in each other's hair. They would break apart at points and smile intimately at each other and Ginny wondered what it would be like to sit in a photo and be caught in that one moment of ecstasy for eternity.

There was another of her and Harry from that weekend, Harry had taken a picture of her while she was sleeping. The next night Ginny had done the same thing. They had taped the two pictures together and it looked as though it was one large picture of the two of them.

There were a few more of Ron and Hermione as well but Ginny kept looking at the pictures of her and Harry. She studied his face, his expressions, wondering what she may have missed the first time around. Perhaps she felt the longer she looked at the photos, she'd figure out the reason he had gone away.

But in every photo, his green eyes twinkled, his face was lit up and he looked as happy as she had remembered him being. She knew why all these photos were placed on the top of the trunk. After he had gone, Ginny threw out everything that might have reminded her of him. Hermione must have (and Ginny'd had a hunch which was now confirmed) gone through and taken everything, putting them safely away in Ginny's trunk for wishful thinking. As she sat there, she couldn't quite put a finger on how she felt about seeing them again, much the same sort of feeling she was getting about seeing Harry again. It was all too confusing to try and think about now. Ginny looked up as she heard a tentative knock at the door.

"Ginny, can I come in?" she heard Hermione's voice ask. Ginny hurriedly scooped up the pictures and threw them unceremoniously in the trunk which she shoved under her bed.

"Come in," Ginny said, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt as she brushed her dark hair out of her eyes.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers. I 3 you all! This chapter is amazingly long for me. But I couldn't find a good place to end it, so you get a longer chapter. Woot. hope you like it!  



	4. Sleeping sort of

A/N: Hmm, yeah no real serious reason that this took so long to update (same goes for my other fics which I will be updating in the next week hopefully). I found a new medium for awhile and have been making HP fanvids for quite some time while my writing bug took a very long hiatus. So yeah, sorry about that. Thanks for sticking around though and reading this.

Chapter 3  
...  
Ginny slept soundly. Surprisingly enough. But before she did, she lay there thinking for a long time. She had talked with Hermione, more to humor her than anything else, before telling her that she was tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. Ginny didn't want to talk about it. She was tired of having the same conversation that they always did.

It was hard to fall asleep in her old bed. For one thing, it was smaller than the bed in her flat. The other thing she missed was Jeff. But as it had always been that way, she couldn't attribute the comfort to him alone. Ever since she'd slept in a bed with someone else, it made it very difficult to go back to sleeping alone.

This she _could_ attribute, she thought angrily, to Harry. The first night they'd slept together, he had held her hand all night long. At first, she had been surprised, almost taken aback. He had apologized the next morning, blushing as he said it. She'd only smiled as she kissed him and slid out of his bed, slipping passed Ron's bed silently, then Neville's, then Dean's. The next time, he'd held her in his arms. Part of this was due to the fact that the heating in the Three Broomsticks was broken and the both of them were freezing. But it had made Ginny feel safer than she'd felt in a long time.

During his seventh year, there hadn't been much time for him to stay at Hogwarts, he'd been gone most of the time and Ginny was left to sleep alone. And on those nights, it was the hardest, because she would be left there to wonder if he would even return this time.

And when he left for good, Ginny couldn't bear to sleep alone in their large bed in the small flat they shared. She left that night, and she hadn't been back since. She could only assume that Ron and Hermione had taken care of things as she stopped receiving bills for it.

By that time, Ginny had found herself a new place, the studio. This one came with Mark, the corresponding struggling artist with an affinity for pillows Ginny never understood. Then a few months later came David and his house in Notting Hill, which she never got to see because that was where his family lived (his family he'd conveniently forgotten to tell her about). Instead, he paid for a small flat for her where he only sometimes slept and when he left her alone, she would sit at the window, awake. And it was possible they had been the best Ginny shivered there in the dark. She liked to think that Ron's comment was way beyond her actions, that it was a gross exaggeration, but here, thinking about it in the dark, she could see the truth in his words.

But then there was Jeff. She felt happier with Jeff than she had in a long while. He was kind, he had a steady job, he was unmarried (all things Ginny now no longer took for granted). He was a charmer, she could see it in his eyes when he met people, and she'd even seen it slightly when she first met him. But with her, he was different. He genuinely liked her and he appreciated her and treated her likewise. In the long line of bad relationships, she wanted to cling to this one. Which is why Harry returning was like throwing a stone into a recently stilled pool. When she allowed her self to think about it, Jeff was the most like Harry of all the other men she'd ever been with. It's not exactly that their personalities were very much alike, but it was in the way they treated Ginny and how comfortable and happy and complete she felt with them.

Ginny turned over. She didn't like comparing Jeff to Harry. She didn't like it because it meant she still thought about Harry, and that she was doing exactly what she resented her mother for doing.

She closed her eyes, trying to picture Jeff lying there next to her and she could finally feel sleep pulling at her. As she drifted off, she heard Hermione move slightly, but in the next moment, Ginny was out cold.

Harry rolled over and stared out the window. The moon was almost full and shown in brightly through Ron's window. Ron was snoring softly and Harry found himself thinking of his days at school and afterwards, and how accustomed he'd grown to absolute quiet as he slept.

It was odd, sharing space with so many other people again. It's not that he'd been in complete solitude for three years, but he spent a lot of his time on his own. There had been dates here and there, some overnight visits but there hadn't been a permanent resident in his flat with him since Ginny. He sighed heavily. Every once in awhile, over the course of the three years they'd been apart, he'd had his share of moments where he'd missed her so terribly that he'd think about going anyplace familiar to try and find her, the lateness of the hour be damned. But he'd never actually done it. And on those nights, he'd actually been able to convince himself that what he lacked was a general female companionship and not just a certain red-headed female's companionship and could then for the most part, ignore the emptiness in the pit of his stomach.

He heard Ron shift in his sleep which suddenly caused him to start snoring much louder than before. Harry rolled his eyes in the dark and stared up at the ceiling, trying to imagine he was alone in the quiet again. And then, through the midst of Ron's snores, he heard something entirely different.

Harry lifted his head slightly from his pillow as he saw the door to Ron's room open. He slid his hand over to the nightstand and gripped his wand as he watched the person tiptoe into the room.

"Hermione?" he blurted out before he really thought about it. She jumped about a foot in the air, while letting out a surprised little yelp.

Ron stopped snoring, "Whas goin' on? 'Mione?" He flicked on the light next to his bed. There was Hermione, clutching her bathrobe around her tightly and looking extremely embarrassed.

Her face was beet red as Harry stared at her questioningly. "Did you uh-did you need something, Hermione?" he asked finally, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted it as the idea suddenly hit him as to why she was there.

Hermione straightened a little. "Well, I um, I sort of forgot that you were here, Harry," she replied, her voice quiet.

Ron's eyes widened as Harry smirked. "All right, I can take a hint. I'm just gonna go sleep on the couch or something," he said, gathering up his pillow and blanket, his face still alight with amusement.

Hermione grabbed his arm. "No, wait, Harry don't be ridiculous, I'll go. Come on, there's no point in you sleeping on the couch."

Harry laughed. "Hermione, its fine. I couldn't sleep anyway. I'll be fine, you two just stay up here and…enjoy yourselves. I'll see you in the morning."

He closed the door behind him and chuckled as he started to descend the stairs.

………………………………………...

Ginny woke with a start. She sat up quickly and as she looked around the room, she noticed that it was still very dark outside. She looked at the clock next to her bed and groaned when she saw that it was only 3:30. She'd only been asleep for about an hour. She slipped quietly out of bed so as not to wake Hermione, but then noticed that the bed was empty.

_She must be in the toilet,_ she thought to herself, _There's no way she'd go up to Ron's room while Harry's there. Would she?_ Ginny tiptoed quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water then crept back upstairs. Hermione still wasn't back yet. _She's a little more adventurous than I thought,_ she thought as she furrowed her brow. She crawled back into bed and tried to will herself back to sleep again.

………………………………………...

Harry started down the stairs when he heard the door to someone's room click shut.

_Someone must have been in the toilet,_ he thought as he threw his blanket over his shoulder so as not to trip over it on the way down. When he got to the second landing, he passed Ginny's door. He stopped and turned to it and he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

_I'll just go sleep in Hermione's bed. Everyone's already asleep, I'll just wake up early and go back upstairs then. No couch surfing necessary!_ He gave himself a mental pat on the back for his ingenious plan. While he didn't really mind sleeping on the couch, why pass up an empty bed while it was there. His only thought of Ginny was that she'd be fast asleep the whole time, not even knowing he'd be there, for he had every intention of leaving before she ever woke up.

……………………………………………………...

Ginny heard the door to her room open slowly. She grinned to herself. She thought about not even letting Hermione know she was awake but she just couldn't pass up the sheepish look she'd find on Hermione's face after being caught by Harry.

"So did Harry throw you out, 'Mione?" Ginny asked, her head still facing the other way.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks across the room towards Hermione's bed. Ginny was most definitely not asleep. And that had most definitely not been part of his plan. He willed himself to move back in the direction of the door, but for some reason, he was rooted to the spot, standing there, looking rather like a small child ready for a sleepover with his pillow in one hand and blanket over his shoulder.

Just then Ginny turned around, smiling. It soon faded however, when she saw Harry standing in the middle of her bedroom. Instinctively as one does with any intruder, Ginny pulled her covers up to her neck, even though she realized a second later that this was Harry and it was all something he'd seen before. He quickly looked at the floor, clearly embarrassed and muttered an apology.

"Harry, what are you doing in here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible and she desperately hoped that he couldn't hear the loud thudding of her heart.

He looked caught off guard by the question, as though he hadn't really expected her to ask him. As if it was the most natural thing in the world for an ex boyfriend to walk into her room and start sleeping on her spare bed. "I-uh…that is. Well, um, apparently Hermione forgot I was up there sleeping in Ron's room, she came upstairs to uh, see him and there I was. Surprise! Anyway, I told her I'd go downstairs and sleep on the couch because I really don't mind that and besides I couldn't sleep because of Ron's snoring. So then I passed your door and remembered that Hermione would no longer be in her bed and maybe I could just sleep there which I'm starting to realize is probably weird enough on its own. Throw in the fact that you're not sound asleep (because I really thought you would be and I thought I'd be out of here by the time you woke up tomorrow) and this most definitely was not my intention to come in here and freak you out like this, really I just want to go to sleep." He realized that he was talking very fast and yet he just couldn't seem to slow down. He wanted her to know as soon as possible that he wasn't just about to try anything funny with her, that he wasn't a filthy pervert coming in here to watch her sleep, or anything weird like that. No, the only weird thing he wanted to do was sleep in Hermione's bed, which he saw now as he stood there near the end of Ginny's bed, was a bit odd.

Ginny watched him intently while he spoke. "Oh," was all she said when he finished.

He looked up at her again. "Is that uh, is that a good 'Oh' or a bad 'Oh'."

Ginny looked slightly amused. "Its an "oh" Harry. I didn't really say it with a positive or negative connotation in mind."

"Oh."

She couldn't help laughing slightly at his reply. "Well, its fine with me if you sleep in here. I just can't believe she actually forgot you were here." She finally let her blankets fall from up under her neck. She wasn't exactly as relaxed as she would have been if it had actually been Hermione walking through the door, but she didn't want Harry to know that. As far as he was concerned, she would show him she was just fine with sleeping with him. _Err, sleeping in the same room as him_, she corrected herself.

"If you want me to go, its fine," Harry said, starting back towards the door again.

Ginny looked at him, "Harry, do you really want to sleep on the couch when there's a perfectly comfortable bed you can sleep in right here? I already said it was fine, just…just go to sleep," she finished as she flopped back onto her pillow.

Harry nodded as he moved towards Hermione's bed. He picked up her pillow and set it down on the floor and placed his own at the head of the bed. As he lay down, he knew Ginny could not be asleep already. It was weird, they had never slept in the same room in different beds before. Harry thought about commenting on that to her, but immediately thought better of it. If he thought he was having trouble trying to sleep before, it was nothing compared to right now. And although his bed smelled like Hermione, that distinct flowery smell that he'd learned to associate with Ginny all those years ago seemed to permeate his senses, bringing back with it things he'd only recently been starting to relive again in his mind from his brief encounter with Ginny while Christmas shopping. And as he lay there, he knew, he knew that all those times he'd craved, longed for someone sleeping next to him through the long, dark nights, he knew that he had longed for her. He could feel it now, only for her. And now, she was the closest to him she'd been in years, and while he knew he needed her, he also knew that she no longer needed him.

Ginny closed her eyes. She could hear him moving around on the bed next to her and she could still hear her heart beating fast in her chest. And she was almost ashamed to admit to herself that she was nervous. Nervous that he was sleeping in her room, nervous that he was mere yards from her own body. And her nervousness only gave way to frustration. Why was she nervous? She hated that his close proximity still seemed to do things to her that it did in third year. She wasn't a lovesick puppy anymore, so why did she still react that way? Besides, after everything they'd been through together, what was there to be nervous about anymore? There was nothing they didn't know about each other, hadn't shared with one another so what was there to keep from him? And then the realization of the gap, that large gaping hole in the relationship when they discussed absolutely nothing together hit her like a ton of bricks. There were plenty of things that finally, she did not know about Harry Potter and many things that he did not know about her. She had no idea where he lived, what he did anymore. She didn't even know what he'd had for dinner the night before last! There was mystery once again behind those glittering emerald eyes and the mysteries made her anxious and curious to find out what they were, but at the same time, she had to ask herself if she really did want to find out. As she felt her eyelids start to close again, she resolved to not let the mysteries of Harry Potter bother her any longer. It was no longer her responsibility to find out what exactly was going on behind those eyes. She was friend now, a friend happy to take on the role of duties friends are supposed to do, like letting someone sleep in your spare bed, but nothing more. There were no strings attached this time around so really, there was no reason to be nervous at all now that he was back in her life. Now all she had to do was convince the knot in her stomach of the same thing.

Cheers for reading. If you want to go watch my fanvideos, cuz they're pretty much all Harry Potter (duh!), then you can check them out here: youtube . com . / user/ thoughtswopurpose (yeah, erase the spaces). Ok cool.


	5. Walking

**Chapter 5** (Yeah, last chapter says Chap. 3 but I goofed, it was supposed to be 4) Oh and thank you for the welcome back, and as a thank you, another chapter.

The next morning dawned and as everyone gathered downstairs to say goodbye to Bill, Fleur and Alice, the four youngest in the party were trying desperately not to look at one another.

Ron was feeling awful about what he'd said to Ginny last night. Hermione felt completely mortified that she'd forgotten Harry was there and that she'd gone up to Ron's room just to be caught by him. Harry couldn't look Ginny in the eye and had barely slept at all while he stole glances at her from Hermione's bed. He also couldn't look at Ron or Hermione either, but this time for fear of laughing. Ginny was just angry. She was furious with Ron, she was slightly mad at Hermione for putting her in the most uncomfortable position with Harry she'd been in for a long while and she was angry with Harry, or rather, she was angry with herself for letting Harry's late night visit get to her. As they muttered their goodbyes to everyone and went back to the kitchen to finish breakfast, they avoided eye contact with each other.

As a result of this, breakfast seemed a rather subdued affair. Ron and Hermione were gulping down breakfast quickly as they were headed off to work at the Ministry.

"You two are lucky that you don't have to work the day after Christmas," she said to Harry and Ginny, finally breaking the silence between the four of them.

Harry shifted in his seat, "Yeah. Sucks that you two have to go though." Ginny nodded in agreement. The awkward silence set in again.

Hermione sighed. "So what are you going to do then, if you don't have work or…anything?" She knew why she felt uncomfortable but she couldn't figure out why Harry and Ginny weren't even looking at each other.

Ginny finally looked up and over at Harry. "I don't know. Did you have anything in mind, Harry?" He seemed almost surprised that she'd addressed him at all. "No," he replied. The words exchanged sounded formal and disjointed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous and since they were the only ones left at the breakfast table she decided to lay everything out then and there. "Ok, I realize that a lot of…things happened last night. And we're all feeling slightly dumb, some of us regret things we said," she glanced at Ron then whose ears turned slightly pink, "But we're adults now, we shouldn't be phased by any of this. So here's what's going to happen. We're all going to forget about all that stuff that happened yesterday. We're going to put it behind us because we're more mature than that, right? And we're going to meet for lunch today. Ron and I usually have lunch around one, why don't the two of you meet us out in front of the Ministry at one o'clock." She seemed to have resorted back to her days as prefect, the know it all bossiness in her voice returning, but she stood by what she said. The other three all looked up at each other and nodded.

"Good!" Hermione said smiling. She stood up to leave. Ginny quickly stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her from the kitchen and out of Ron and Harry's earshot.

"Ouch Ginny! That hurt," Hermione said as they walked into the living room and Ginny slapped her arm with slightly more force than she meant to.

"I can't believe you FORGOT that Harry was here! I can't believe you went upstairs!" Ginny said in a loud whisper.

Hermione looked at her confused. "What? How did you know that?" she whispered back.

"Because he came and decided to sleep in _your_ bed last night! That's how!" Ginny replied sharply.

"Oh. OH! Really? That's…oh. I'm sorry, Ginny! He told me he was going to go sleep on the couch," Hermione said in her defense.

Ginny folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah, well, he changed his mind didn't he. He's pretty good at that." She looked down at the floor.

"Ginny," Hermione said sympathetically, putting her hand on Ginny's arm, "Are you ok?"

Ginny sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just…strange you know? I mean…ugh, I don't know anymore! But yeah, I'm ok." She smiled at Hermione who returned it with a small, sympathetic smile. They walked back into the kitchen where the boys were now chatting easily.

"-and I get tickets to every single Quidditch match! And not just tickets, box seats. It's brilliant! Of course, there is the occasional bit of real work I have to do here and there, but it's worth it," Ron was saying.

Harry smiled. "Good, I'm glad you like what you're doing, mate. Guess I know who to call when I need a ticket then."

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, we should go Ron or we'll be late," Hermione said from the door.

Ron stood up, "See you two at lunch," he said. As he passed Ginny standing in the doorway, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "You know I didn't mean what I said last night, right? Its just…well you're my only sister and I love you. I'm just trying to look out for you," he said quietly so that she was the only to hear him.

She looked up at him and gave him a genuine smile. "I know." Ron heaved a sigh of relief. "So we're good then?" he asked. She laughed. "Well, until you put your foot in your mouth again, yes," she said giving him a hug, "We're good."

And then Hermione and Ron were gone and Harry and Ginny sat at opposite sides of the table alone again. After a minute, Harry looked up at her. "So Ron was telling me that he works for the Department of Games and Sports."

Ginny nodded. "Yep, heads actually. Head of the GAS department," she said, an amused smile gracing her lips.

"I always thought he wanted to be an Auror," Harry said thoughtfully, thinking of when the two had made plans to start Auror training after Hogwarts. "I mean, he started the training when I did."

Her smile faltered slightly, "I think when you…when you left, he sort of had a change of heart."

"Oh. You mean he-"

"He's really happy, Harry. I don't think being an Auror was ever what he really wanted to do. I think he was doing it to stick close to you," she replied. She hadn't meant to make it seem as though Harry was entirely at fault. Of course Ron had been crushed about not continuing on as an Auror after Harry left, but it hadn't stopped him from then getting on with life, hadn't stopped him from finding a job he loved rather than one that he only did to keep his best mate around. "Even if the two of you had finished the training together, I'm not sure if he would have stayed with it anyway," she added, trying to wipe the look of shame off of Harry's face.

The two fell into yet another awkward silence. Harry sat there, the rest of his breakfast forgotten as he stared at his hands on the table. Ginny started reading the back of the box of cereal, she'd said enough to Harry for now. She could have kicked herself, the last thing Harry needed was to feel as though he was to blame for ruining everyone's lives. They had all moved on with their lives after Harry, he shouldn't feel as though they hadn't.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" she asked suddenly. Harry jerked his head up to stare at her, his eyes wide as though he'd just remembered she was there.

"What?" he replied.

Ginny smiled warmly. "Come on, let's go do something before we go meet Ron and Hermione. We can't just sit here on our bums all day long. We did that yesterday."

Harry cracked a small grin. "All right. Where should we go?"

"I was thinking we could down into town. There's this really good coffee place which also happens to serve awesome ice cream and I'm supposed to visit my friend Margaret. She works at a candy store. You'll love it. They have got the best chocolate from here to Honeydukes," Ginny said excitedly. "That is," she added, "if that's something you feel like doing."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

"So, what do you think? I told you you'd love the ice cream. We used to come down here all the time in the summer and get some," she said as they walked down the high street in the small town of Ottery St. Catchpole.

Harry looked over at her. "Well, after that incredibly long walk, anything would taste good," he said teasingly. "But yes, it is excellent."

Ginny stuck her tongue out, "You insisted we walk! I told you it was a long walk but nooo, you just chose not to listen to me did you?"

He just shrugged. As they continued walking, Harry realized he'd never actually been in the town before. Of all the times he'd been to the Burrow, he'd either been forbidden to leave the house or he never had the opportunity to go. And now that he was here, he could see why Ginny liked it so much. It was small but it was perfect. Every place they stopped, people smiled and greeted them hello. Everyone was polite and no one seemed in a hurry to be anywhere. And to top it all off, he was with Ginny. She seemed radiant, so happy to be back in a familiar place. She'd stop every once in awhile and point something out to Harry with a story about what happened there as a child. The brown hair had taken some getting used to, but it was still the same old Ginny underneath and for the hundredth time in the past 24 hours, he remembered how good it felt to be around her.

Ginny stopped suddenly at a shop window but Harry kept walking. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand and pulled him backwards towards her. "Oh Harry! Look at them, they're so cute!"

Harry barely had time to register the pet shop window full of puppies as he felt Ginny's warm hand entwined with his. He swallowed hard and wondered when she'd realize what she was doing and let go. But she just stood there, her hand still closed around his as she gazed in rapture at the small creatures that jumped and rolled over one another in hopes of gaining her attention.

"Oh Harry, I've wanted a puppy for the longest time, but I have no place to keep one. Our flat's way too small, plus I think Jeff told me he was allergic, but it was our first date and you always take things said on the first date with a grain of salt. Maybe I should ask him, if we got a bigger place. What do you think?" she said, sounding hopeful as she glanced up at Harry for an answer.

Harry swallowed again, "I uh-I think that you should ask him. That is, if you really want one. How could anyone resist you?" he asked, turning back to the window suddenly as he realized what he'd said. "I mean you," he addressed the puppies, "How could anyone resist you guys, in there. The puppies. Is what I meant by you, them…" he trailed off after that, knowing he was once again sounding like an idiot.

Ginny smiled. "Maybe I will ask him," she said as she started to walk again, yet still she did not let go of Harry's hand. He couldn't figure out why she was doing it. Was this suddenly something two friends did, hold each other's hands? Perhaps he'd missed an important friends' bulletin that said if you were ever romantically involved with one of your friends, afterwards it's ok to make physical contact most often reserved for couples.

As she started to walk, he stayed rooted to the spot. "Wait, Ginny," he said, wanting to get down to whatever game she might be playing with him. She turned her head and looked at him. "Yes?"

And yet again, Harry found himself for at a loss of what to say. But relief came in the shape of a small drop of ice cream just to the left of her lips. "Come here, you have some, uh…" he was going to use his hand to wipe the same spot on his face, to let her know she had something there, but he was still holding on to her with his free hand.

"Do I have ice cream on my face? I always do that!" she said, taking a step closer to him. "Where is it?" She started to wipe the wrong side of her face.

Harry laughed, "No, its right-no, you missed it, other side. No, down a little. Here, just come here will you," he pulled her even closer again and took his finger and wiped the drop from her face. He put his finger in his mouth and licked it off. "Just as you said, excellent ice cream."

It was Ginny's turn to laugh as he smiled at her. They stayed there like that for a minute, in front of the pet shop, looking at each other, and it was then that Ginny finally seemed to realize that she was holding Harry's hand as if it were nothing, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She shifted her eyes away from his gaze and stepped back a little, now avoiding looking him in the eye.

She turned around to start walking again. Harry started to grab her arm, "Wait! Ginny-" but she was already walking, looking out at the street and not at him. He took two long strides and was walking next to her. "Ginny, what is it? What did I do?"

"Nothing Harry, _you_ didn't do anything, all right?" she replied though she still wouldn't look at him. This time he did grab her arm and this time he held on, "Ginny, look at me!" Ginny pulled her arm from Harry's grasp and was about to say something when they both heard someone else calling her name.

"Ginny? Ginny Weasley is that you?" Harry watched as an older woman about Mrs. Weasley's age came up the street towards them. Ginny sighed but put on a smile.

"Hello Mrs. Dunning, how are you?" she asked politely.

Mrs. Dunning walked right up to them and cupped Ginny's face in her hands. "Look at you, oh I do believe you become lovelier every time I see you," she exclaimed. "Are you visiting home for the holidays?"

Ginny nodded as best she could with the woman's hands clutching her. "Oh good!" she continued. "Your mother is always so happy when you all come to visit. Why just last week we were talking and she said she was so looking forward to seeing you. Of course, I didn't think I'd actually have the pleasure of running into you myself!" she said as the removed her hands and clapped them together excitedly.

"No," Ginny said, "nor did I. Well, it was nice to see you, Mrs. Dunning but we have to go now," she added as she started to walk around her, hoping Harry would do the same before she noticed him.

"Wait a moment, Ginny! Ginny who is this strapping young lad?" Ginny closed her eyes in exasperation, too late. He'd been spotted. "Is this the new boyfriend you're mother was telling us about?" she asked as she pulled Harry back a little to examine him.

Harry smiled. "I'm Harry," he said, holding out his hand. He gave Ginny an amused sort of look that she did not return. "Oh no, I'm afraid you're mistaken. This is Harry, he's just an old family friend. My boyfriend's name is Jeff. He's not here right now," she said hastily.

Mrs. Dunning clicked her tongue. "No, surely not! The two of you look so wonderful together, the most attractive couple I've seen in quite some time. Go on, Ginny. You're just embarrassed. You think we old folks don't know what goes on in the hearts of young lovers. No, you two don't have anything to hide. I saw you holding hands," she added with a mischievous smile. "Well, I'm sure you two lovebirds have lots to do," she said with a wink, "I'll just let you go. Tell your mother I said hello!" And she walked off again, continuing up the street.

Harry turned to Ginny, grinning widely. "Who was that delightful woman?" She laughed, her anger seeming to dissipate into amusement at the ridiculousness of the situation. "That was Mrs. Dunning," she said as they started walking again. "See about a year ago, Mum joined this sewing circle here in town. It gives her something to do during the day and she's made quite a few friends. As you can see," she said, waving her hand in the direction Mrs. Dunning went.

"Really? A sewing circle?" he asked. Ginny nodded. "So how does she know you?"

"Well Mum forced me to go with her once. It was absolutely awful. God, I would have rather jabbed the needles into my eyeballs than been there," she said gravely as if she were reliving a trip to Hell rather than to the Ottery St. Catchpole sewing circle. Harry laughed again.

"I'll give her one thing, she has good taste in men," he added as he swaggered into the door of the candy store Ginny wanted to stop in.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Yeah ok, just remember, she's blind in one eye," she said jokingly as she followed him inside.

He turned around. "Liar."

"Whatever."

"Jealous?"

"Please. I'll prove it to you. Margaret?" Ginny walked up to the counter where a small blonde haired girl was reading a magazine. "Isn't it true that Mrs. Dunning is completely blind in one eye?" she asked, drawing out the question in hopes Margaret would catch on.

The girl looked up and saw Ginny and smiled. "Oh uh, yeah. Completely blind in the left eye," she said just as Ginny said right eye. Harry chuckled and leaned with his back against the counter. "You girls can't fool me."

"Mmm, guess not. Hey Mar, how are you?" she asked, addressing her friend who stood up and hugged her over the counter.

"Ginny! I haven't seen you in ages! I thought you might come home for Christmas!" she said excitedly. Then she turned to look at Harry. "Hello, you must be Harry," she said pointedly.

Harry immediately ran a hand through his hair, something he did whenever he noticed people noticing his scar. He figured the girl must be a witch if he knew who she was. "Ginny's told me so much about you," Margaret continued.

"Oh!" Harry said as he pulled his hand down and held it out to shake her hand. Ginny stifled a giggle.

After a few minutes of chatting with Margaret and after Ginny bought a box of candy to bring to lunch, she and Harry left the store. As soon as they stepped outside, Ginny started laughing again. Harry gave her an odd look. "What's so funny?"

"You are incredibly assuming. I saw the way you thought she was looking at your scar. You thought she was a witch didn't you, and that's how she recognized you?" she said, still giggling slightly.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well. She's a friend of yours, I just assumed. There I was wrong. Guess the two of us are even now. I win Dunning's round, you win Margaret's."

Ginny put a finger to her chin as though she was thinking it over. "Fair enough," she said decidedly as they set off again.

Harry checked his watch. "Oh, we should probably go if we're going to meet those guys at one."

"All right. Had enough of that small town charm, then?" she asked, nudging him with her elbow. "I'm sure a big city boy like yourself's getting all restless way out here," she added teasingly.

"On the contrary, I had a wonderful time," Harry replied as she led them down a side street to apparate back to London.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Hermione peeked her head into Ron's office. He was bent over an envelope that he was addressing. She smiled to herself before knocking on the open door. She loved watching him work.

He looked up. "Hermione!" he said as he started shuffling the papers around on his desk hastily. "What are you doing here?" She watched as he stuffed a letter in the envelope and sealed it quickly and laid it face down on his desk.

"Are you ready to go to lunch? I said we'd meet them in ten minutes," she said, walking inside.

Ron stood up. "Yeah, let me just…I have to mail this-did you see Ben out there? Ben!" he called. A short young man came running in. "Yes Mr. Weasley? Oh hello Ms. Granger!"

"Hi Ben," Hermione replied, smiling. Ron brushed past her and handed Ben the envelope. Hermione looked at it, but the address was on the other side. "Can you send this letter off?" he asked.

"No problem, Mr. Weasley. Are you taking your lunch now?" Ben asked. Ron looked back at him from where he was grabbing his coat off the rack. "What? Oh, yeah, we're going to lunch. I'll be back in an hour."

Ben nodded and left. Hermione walked towards the door. "What was that letter for?" she asked casually.

"Just work stuff," he said as he kissed her on the cheek and walked out of his office. "Come on, we don't want to keep them waiting." She took another look back at his desk before following him out.


End file.
